Jobless workers holding placards advertising their skills wait for work in a street in Shenyang, capital of the rustbelt province of Liaoning. Photo: Reuters
Jobless workers holding placards advertising their skills wait for work in a street in Shenyang, capital of the rustbelt province of Liaoning. Photo: Reuters

China has called for a private bank to be established in the country’s struggling northeast as part of a new plan published on Wednesday to support economic growth in the region.

The State Council, China’s cabinet, said the government will investigate developing new industries in resource-depleted cities in the northeast’s rustbelt provinces to create jobs, and will accelerate construction of infrastructure projects.

The central government will provide special support for northeastern cities suffering from recession and resource depletion, the plan said.

China has issued several directives this year outlining new infrastructure projects and other investments in a bid to boost growth in the region, home to Liaoning, the only province whose economy is in recession.